The Stranger
by WanderingNYer67
Summary: This story has been rolling around in my head ever since I watched the Series One finale in January. I think it's an interesting twist. I've just rewatched the finale and the story just started pouring out. There are some SPOILERS so please be aware of that. Reviews welcome. This is going to be a multiple chapter story so please bare with me. Thank you!
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

It is nearly a month since Moloch released the Horseman of War upon the land and Henry Parrish gave up Katrina to the Headless Horseman. Jenny rescued Ichabod from the grave by tracking the GPS on Abbie's cell phone. (Unbeknownst to Ichabod when he hugged Abbie before leaving her in purgatory she slipped her cell phone into his jacket pocket.) Jenny and Ichabod then tracked down Henry Parrish and set a trap to send him into purgatory so they could release Abbie. Captain Irving is released from prison and murder charges are dropped courtesy of some 'friends' in the right places.

**Chapter One**

_Halifax Nova Scotia_

A woman is running through a dark wood. She's sees a man up ahead whom she recognizes but cannot remember his name. She tries to catch up with him to find out who he is and where they are. No matter how quickly she moves, she cannot reach him. Suddenly there is a flash of bright white light and the woman awakens in her bedroom and screams "ICHABOD!"

_Sleepy Hollow, NY_

Since Abbie was released from purgatory, she and Ichabod returned to their routine. While things look normal, Abbie is still suffering from the trauma of being left in purgatory. No matter how many times Ichabod apologizes and asks her forgiveness Abbie is still not herself. She is going through the motions but is obviously not the same.

Abbie and Ichabod arrive in the archives to resume attempting to find where Headless stole Katrina away to. They sit at desks facing each other while drinking coffee and pouring over manuscripts and maps. Jenny arrives with several books from her collection that she thinks could be of some use.

"Guys you know you could cut the tension in here with a knife." Jenny stated to neither one in particular. Ichabod looked over his shoulder towards Abbie and Abbie kept her nose buried in whatever she was reading. "There's no tension Jenny. Only whatever you THINK you feel" was Abbie's sharp retorted. Ichabod excused himself from the room for a few minutes.

Taking advantage of the privacy, Jenny pulls a chair up next to Abbie and sits down. "Look Abbie…" Abiie interrupts her "Jenny there is nothing to look. Don't know what you are sensing but everything is cool." Jenny harrumphs and shoots back "Then why is talk, dark and British walking around as if on eggshells when you're around?!" Abbie opens her mouth but can't find the words. After a moment she says to Jenny "That day I spent in purgatory was the absolute worst 24 hours of my life. It was a total mind bend. It's taking me a bit of time to get myself together from it. I'm not upset with Crane. I told him he had to go even though a) I didn't want him to leave me there and b) it was fulfilling the prophecy of a witness betraying the other."

Jenny puts her hand on her older sister's shoulder and said "you need to tell him that. He feels really shitty about what he did. He more or less said it but not in those words. I saw his face when I dug him out of that grave Abbie. He was a burning man. He was tortured. He said he would never forgive himself let alone ask you for forgiveness." Abbie quietly nods her head and says "I'll have a proper talk with him when he gets back." "Good. Now I'm going to see if I can cross reference any of Corbin's findings with these books I brought down." Jenny picks up the box of books and goes to the other side of the room.

A few more minutes pass before Ichabod returned to the archive room. He comes with cups of coffee for Jenny and Abbie. Abbie watches him and smiles to herself knowing that it was a big step for him to go into a Starbucks and run the gamut that is ordering coffee in the 21st century. She smiles at him as places the coffee on the desk next to her computer.

"Crane, please sit down" Abbie says as she pats the chair next to her that was recently vacated by Jenny. "Of course Miss Mills, is there anything the matter?" Ichabod asked her quietly intently watching her expressions. "Okay first of all after all the weird stuff we've been through, you STILL can't call me Abbie?! SERIOUSLY?!" Ichabod makes to apologize when Abbie puts her hand up to stop him. "Look Ichabod. We need to talk about what happened with purgatory and all the events around it." Ichabod looks down at his hands folded in his lap. Abbie reaches out and uses her index finger to tip his chin up so he is looking at her. She then takes both of his hands in hers and says "Ichabod, I don't hold you responsible for anything. And I NEED you to stop emotionally torturing yourself about it. I chose to stay behind. We weren't to know that Henry was Jeremy and he was going to bury you alive and give Katrina to Headless. It happened. And yes it was scary as hell in purgatory. The worst period of my life ever was spent there. But the best moment happened when I saw you and Jenny come through the portal to bring me home." A tear runs down Ichabod's face and he whispers "You don't hate me then?" Abbie shakes her head and replies "never in a million lifetimes could I hate you. We are in all of this together. Partners in crime, remember?" And with that Ichabod and Abbie give each other a little smile and Ichabod felt for the first time in weeks that things would be fine between him and Abbie.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The trio worked through the morning, researching ancient texts and old maps to try to find out where the Headless Horseman could be keeping Katrina hidden. She hasn't come to Ichabod in his dreams which is worrying since they all believed she would at least be able to do that. They are coming to the conclusion that Headless has found somewhere to keep her that puts a block on her magic which is still weak after being in purgatory for so long.

Jenny is so frustrated that she kicks the garbage can so hard and sends it flying across the room where it narrowly misses Captain Irving's head as he walks into the archives. "Jenny the NY Giants should draft you as a kicker" Captain Irving comments as he walks over to the desk Abbie is working at. Looking at the maps and copies of old texts, Irving asks "don't you people ever come up for air?" Abbie stretches and looks at her watch. "OMG! It's 2pm! Hey Crane, something must be wrong with your stomach." Ichabod looks around the corner of one of the bookcases "Oh really? Why would that be Lefftennant?" Abbie taps her watch "It's 2pm and you've not been looking for food" she laughs at him. "Right we must do something about that then. Miss Jenny are you ready for lunch?" Ichabod calls over his shoulder to Jenny who is hunched over a book but waves them off to get something to eat. "Just bring me back a Subway please. No jalapeños!"

As Abbie and Ichabod walk out of the archives and into the station with the captain, the captain mentions they might want to pop over to the historical society/library and introduce themselves to the new historian/librarian since they spend a lot of time over there. "Building good working relationships" is what he called it. "And make sure that Crane doesn't piss this one off please. The County Office said that if another historian/librarian leaves due to Professor Crane being a PITA, the county will charge us the recruiting costs!" As Abbie tried to reassure the captain that Ichabod will be on his best behaviour as Ichabod scoffs at the suggestion.

The pair squint as they leave the police station. The sun was very bright and their eyes took a few minutes to adjust after working in the archives all morning. Abbie looks across the street at the historical society/library building and says "maybe we should go introduce ourselves first then get the food." Ichabod gives a sweeping bow and says "after you lefftennant." Abbie laughs and gives him her best smile.

Looking from across the street, a woman walking into the library watched the couple crossing the street. Noticing the unusual fashion the man was wearing, somewhere in the back of her mind she felt like she recognized him. The woman gave herself a little shake and shook her head at her foolishness. She said to herself she better get a move on if she wanted to finish a chunk of her research before starting her new job on Monday.

The historical society/library building is one of Ichabod's most favourite places. He feels comfortable there because there are things in there that he knows and remembers. As they were walking into the main room of the library, Ichabod noticed that the display of maps had been updated to one of Sleepy Hollow during the Revolutionary War. He stopped to point out some details of the area to Abbie before they went into the library.

When they walked into the main room, Abbie saw the assistant librarian Caroline. Caroline has been working in the library since Jesus was a carpenter and wasn't at all bothered by Ichabod's 'eccentricities'. "Officer Mills, it's lovely to see you" Caroline smiled at her. "Hey Caroline, Professor Crane and I just wanted to stop in to introduce ourselves to the new historian/librarian. Is she around?" "Professor Fairley doesn't start in her position until Monday but she's doing some research today on a book she's writing. I saw her in the history section about 20 minutes ago." Abbie smiles at Caroline and says "We'll go look for her over there. Thank you!"

The pair made their way to the history section of the library. Ichabod was distracted by a book on the trolley waiting to be shelved, Abbie continued on to find the new librarian. As Abbie turned the corner, she noticed the woman looking for a book on the shelves while referencing another book in her hand. Abbie thought to herself "this one will get along great with Ichabod, they read the same way." She walks up to the woman "Excuse me are you the new librarian?" The woman turns to look at Abbie and Abbie is struck how the woman's eyes were frighteningly familiar. "Why yes I am the new librarian. Can I help you?" the woman spoke to her in an accent that wasn't American but more of a mix. Abbie extended her hand and responded "I'm Lieutenant Abbie Mills with the Sleepy Hollow Police Department. My colleague and I do a lot of research in here." The librarian smiles and replies "It's a pleasure to meet you lefftennant." Abbie was thrown by the woman's pronunciation of Lieutenant she didn't notice Ichabod come around the corner. "Sorry where are my manners. I am Professor…." "Amelia?" Ichabod whispers in a shocked tone. Amelia looks over to where the male voice came from. She turns white as a sheet in shock when she sees the man. "Ichabod?" He nods. She says "this is not possible you are dead!" Ichabod replies "I could say the same of you! How are you here?" Abbie totally lost, says "Could someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" Ichabod looks to Abbie and says "Miss Mills, may I introduce you to Amelia. My sister."


End file.
